Distilling apparatus



Patented Aug. 2 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI.-

"0. G. ADVSIT.' `DISTILLINGIAPPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I4 1,920.

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DISTILLING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED S'EPT. I4, i920.` i n PatentedAug. y 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/ @mum/do@ escape;

retort batteries,

the overflow from UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES G. Ansrr, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be' it known that I, CHARLES G. Ansrr,a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residin at Atlanta,

and tateof Georgia, have invented certainI new and useful Improvementsin Distilling Apparatus, specification. I

y present invention relates to distilling apparatus, and particularly toapparatus for cracking and distill'ing crude petroleum or other oils orliquids in a continuous process. Among the objects of my invention maybe especially mentionedl l. The provision of electric means for heatingthe distilling tube or retort; A

2. The construction of the retort proper to constitute the secondary ofan electric vWindg ing, so that current introduced therein genera-testhe heat required for the distilling process; p 3. The provision ofmeans for supplying of which the following is a a'cOntinuous flow ofliquid to the retortand overflow discharge therefrom associated'with thevapor chamber, from which the distilled vapors are Withdrawn orpermitted'toV 4;. Means for maintaining-the vapor cham.` ber underpressure;

5. The provision of a series of retorts, or at different temperatures,one being connected to the intake of the next in' series; 6. Means formaintaining the inner surface of the .retorts free from'deposits orother accumulations thereon;

eans for withdrawing sediment from the .bottom ofthe retort;

8. Regulating and control devices forV maintaining the 'chamber of eachretort, or

retort battery, at desired temperature, and

for insuring the desired flow, of Iliquid throu h the apparatus;v 1

9. lgndicating means for disclosing .the temperature and pressureconditions in the retort;

10. Various features of construction and operation hereinafter describedor indicated in theaccompanying drawings, in which,

' F igurel is a schematic vertical Section through a distillingapparatus in which my invention is embodied in one form;

Fig. 2 is a similar View of a modified construction;

Fig 3 is a similar view of a further modification; f

Specification of Letters Patent. Application mea sep'tmber 14,1920.serial No.

in the 'county of Fulton illustrated at A,

vretort a clean-out pipe DISTYILLING APPARATUS.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

Fig. 4 is a similar view cation; and

F ig.-v 5 is a. side elevation of the latter.

In the form shown in Fig. 1, the oil or other liquid to be distilled orcracked, is supplied to the apparatus from any suitable source, suchV asthe tank diagrammatically through a pipe B, and a force Apump C. Theliquid, Which for brevity I will hereinafter refer toas oil, iioWsthrough the pDipe B to the lower portion of the chamber of the retort. Eformed from an iron or steel tube. the latter is/closed by acap F, whileits upper end opens to the distillate dome G.

ires H, from any suitable source of current supply, preferablyalternating current, lead to the retort and are coiled around the same,but insulated therefrom in any suitable manner, as 'by an insulatedcasing I on the retort. A switch S is provided to control the circuit. Ajacket I surrounding the coil prevents radiation and consequent loss ofheat from the' retort. As will Ibe noted, the retort tube or ipe E iscarried up into the dome G a suflilbient distance to form a sump J,which receives the overflow from the top of the retort. A scraper K,(Fig. 2) may be arranged Within the retort to keep its Walls free fromaccumulations or The lower end of of another' modii deposits thereon.This scraper is journaled 1n a. spider K at the top of the retort, andpasses out through a stuffing box K2 at the bottom. to any'suitabledriving mea-ns (not shown). At the, top of the dome Gis an escape pipe Lfor the distilled vapors, the pipe having arranged therein a sprinpressed va-lve'which may'be `regulated to maintain the pressure in thedome as high discharge pipe M opens from the bottom of the sump J anddrains the undistilled overflow liquidtherefrom through A pyrometer Pwith exposed -dial is arranged in the upper portion of the retort toindicate the temperature of the oil at that point. A pressure gage Rop'ens to the top ofthe dome G, and its indication governs theadjustment of the escape valve N for the distilled vapors. A liquid gageV discloses the level of the overflow in the sump J. At the bottom ofthe Y, provided with a suitable control valve opens through the cap F,so that-any sediment in the retort may be discharged at will.

-he operation of the` apparatus is as follows: Coldoil is pumped fromthe source into the retort E below the portion of the l' latter.surrounded by the coil and heating jacket'I, and slowly passed upthrough the lone surrounded by the heating jacket@ If 1" the switch S isclosed, the How of alternatl' .-ing current through the Wire II.(preferably" Within the iron or steel pipeJ forming ther reoopper)coiled around the reto-rt, induces 1n the latter a' secondary currentAproportional' tolthe ampere turns in the coil. Thus, our# rent of highdensity is jcaused to'circulate tort and heats the latter through its inherent electrical resistance. Any tempera@ ture desired -Within thelimits of operation ofthe distilling processmay be obtained in ployed,there is no' danger ofproducing-in the retort the fhot spots vcommonlyincidental to iame or re heated retorts. Even should the internalstructure ofthe metal tube be non-uniform, so that one portion` thereofpresents more or less resistance than -another to the flow of current,and there- `fore tends to become hotter, or vice versa, thetendencyto-local over-heating is automatically compensated. Thevelectric resistance in the hotter: portion. will rise and automaticallypass less current,- thereby removing vto some extent the excess heat atthat point.- The flow of the current in the primary coil may becontrolled by'electrical devices of any suitable sort, such as inductionregulators or separately controlled elecf tric generators, or byrheostats, so that any desired temperature Within the still may beobtained and lthis temperature held practically constant Within veryclose limits throughout the distillation process.

As the cold oiliowing upward through the ,retort does not come incontact with the heated portion of the'oil under, distillation,

or the distilled vapor, there is no retardation yI have arrangedtheretort vertically. .In-110 Figs.I 4 and 5, I have shovvn the retortin'- v` clfined.v Moreover, I have shown a battery of the process causedby the continuous feed of the cold oil, and none of the .vaporrisingfrom the top of the retort is condensed.

While it is possible to permit the distilled vapor. to pass off atatmospheric pressure, or below, (i. e. under Vacuum,) I prefer tomaintain Vthe dome under pressure. By use of the regulating valve 'N notonly is pressure maintained Within -the'dome, but it is kept practicallyconstant during the distillation process, regardless of the flow throughthe valve. y A spring pressed 'valve' of this type-also serves asasafety, since it automaticallyrelieves excess pressure.' The distilledvapors or gases after leaving the dome through the pipe L, are carriedto a condensing apparatus of any sort, (not shown) While the overflowfrom the top of A the retort may be delivered tc a collection 'incaricatank, or as indicated in Fig. 3, it may be led at vto a second stillarranged in series with the I first, but having the coll or current so.diii'erentiated from that of the first still as to induce in the Wallof the second retort a curso as to o er a greater resistancetc the flowofthe current, or, alternatively, the diameter of thesecond still may bediminishedto afford a smaller volume of oil passing therethrough,.or thespeed of the feed4 maybe varied in a still of the same diameter, soas toinsure a higher temperature in successive stills of the series. In 'thisWay distillates of vdifferent boiling points are successively removedfrom the crude oil. It will be noted that in spite of the relativelyrapid feed to the apparatuathe effect of 'slow distillation is securedsince the oil passes from the relativel cool bottom of the retort slowlyup- War through the heated zone and reaches the desired distillationtemperature gradu-gro ally. This is a; veryvaluable feature indistillation processes, yespecially for crack` ing oils.

Tar or through the still and are carried out through thepipe M With theresidue. Sand or 'anyv other substance too heavy to be carried insuspension so that it sinks to the lower portion of the still, may becleaned out periodipurpose of cleaning the inner face ofthe fixedcarbonaceous products of'the distillation process follow thel flow of'oil 95 'rent of greater density, and-thus to raise thel 70 I' retort,and of agitating th. oil in' the latter 105 so that the interior andexterior temperatures of the oil are maintained as possible at allpoints.Y

In the stills shown in Figs. 1' to inclusive,

of ret'orts arranged in parallel and taking uniform as ering to a topdomeA G-commonto the battery. From the domeG the residue passes by pipesM to acollection chamber or second battery, as in Fig. 3. In`thisconstruction I have shown the feed drum Xprovided at X retort tubesE to permit the introduction of a cleaning tool .therethrough upon theremoval `of the coverpl'ates X2. t would of course be possible toprovide Scrapers, as in with a series of portsaxially'alined with the120 the construction shown in Fig. 2, if this were preferred. Anotherfeature of construction which may be pointed out is the fact that eachretort tube E constitutes a self-contained element which may beinserted, or removed from position fianges E2 from the correspondingflanges of the port holes opening to theupper and lower drums G andAnother feature common to a1l` of the types of construction illustrated,and of particular value in the'process,I resides in the fact that thedistilled vapors or gases which collect in the dome above do not come incontact with the heated retort tubes.l Destructive distillation is thusprevented.

claimy 1. Distillation apparatus comprising a metallic retort, a primarycoil surrounding the same but insulated therefrom, means for supplyingliquid to the retort, and means or recovering the vapors distilledthere-l from upon the heating of the retort by induced currentfollowingthe flow of alternating current through the primary coil.

2. Distillation apparatus comprising a flowing liquid through theretort, and means for recovering the vapors distilled therefrom upon theheating of the retort by induced current following the iow of alter'-nating current through the primary coil.

3. Distillation apparatus comprising a metallic retort, a primary coilsurrounding the same but insulated therefrom, a distillatechambercommunicating with the upper portion of the retort, means forflowing liquid upward through the retort, meansyfor leading off the'undistilled liquid passing i uid upward through the retort, '50

through the retort, from the said 'chamber the distillate resulting fromthe heating of the retort following the flow of alternating currentprimary heating coil.

4.' Distillation apparatus comprising a metallic retort, a primary coilsurrounding the v`same but insulated therefrom, a distillate chambercommunicating with the 'upper portion of the retort, means forflowing-liqmeans for leading oli' the undistilled liquid passingthrough-the retort,vme ans vfor leading offfrom the said chamber thedistillate resulting kfrom the heating of the retort vfollowing the flowof alternating current through the primary heating coil, together withmeans for maintaining the distillate chamber under pressure.

5. A distillation apparatus comprising atubular metallic retort,.japrimary coil surrounding but insulated therefromfmeans for introducingliquid to the lowerqport-ion of the retort, means for collecting theidistillate at the upper portion ofthe retort, and

means for connecting the primarycoilto a` source of alternating currentwhereby-,upon

by disconnection at its end series of. retorts of.

metallic retort, va

means for leading ofi".

through the' .a series of -retorts of a series of retorts of the typeclaim 5, meansfor; controlling the electrical of the series the flow ofcurrent through the primary, the

duced therein. I

6. In combination with an apparatus such as specified in claimt),avs'ource of liquid supply, piping cnnecting the same to the lowerportion of the retort, and means for feeding the liquid-.continuouslyfrom the supply to the retort so as to permit'the-distillation to becarried on as a continuous process.

7. An apparatus such as specified in claim 5, having tort for thedischarge at will therefrom of sediment' accumulating in the retort.

-8. In a construction such as specified in claim 5, means formaintaining the collecting chamber of the retort under predeterminedpressure. .9. In 'an apparatus'suh as speciliedin claim 5, means forregulating the current supplied to the primary coil to vary lthetemperature of the retort resulting from the induced current therein.

10. A .distillation-apparatus comprisingv a the type specified in claim5, and means for varyingthe induced current in the several retorts tograduate the temperatures of the different retorts of the series.

11. In a distillati n apparatus, a tubular primary winding surroundingbut insulated therefrom, a -chamberat the top of the retort, a dischargefor the undistilled liquid passingthrough the retort, andmeans forfeeding li uid continuously into the lower portion o the re- 12. Adistillation apparatus, comprising the type specified in claim 5, meansfor controlling the electrical conditions at the several retorts of theseries to maintain the same at different temperatures, and means forleading the undistilled liquid from one retort tothe retort next in theseries.

13. A distillation apparatus, comprising specified in conditions at theseveral retorts to maintain the same at different temperatures, andmeans-for leading the undistilled liquid from one retort to the retortnext in the series, the successive retorts in the series beingmaintained at successively higher temperatures.

'14. A continuous distillation apparatus comprising a series of metallicretorts, an

over-flow discharge connection between successive retorts in the series,meanswvfor colsource of retort is heated by theA secondary currentinduced therein.

an outlet at the bottom of the recollecting lecting the distillate fromeach retort, and means for heating the retortsby electric currentinduced therein, together With means for passing the liquid to bedistilled successively through the retorts in the series.

15. A continuous distillation apparatus comprising a series of metallic'retorts', an over-flow discharge connection-between successsive retortsin the series, means for col-I lecting the distillate from each retort,and means for heating the retorts by electric current induced therein,the electric conditions for successive retorts being raised tol maintainsuccessively higher temperatures therein. 5

16. In a continuous distillation apparatus, a metallic retort, n eansfor passing liquid continuously theret1rough,lmeans for inducing anelectric current therein to heat the saine, and means for cleaning theinner e face of the retort during the operating of the apparatus.

1'( In a continuous distillation apparatus, a metallic retort,"means forpassing liquid continuously therethrough, means for induc- A ing 'anelectric current therein to heat. the

same, and means for cleaning the inner face of the retortl during theoperating of the `nectedto said drums in parallel, ,means Jfor'continuously introducing liquid intothe feed drum, `means for leadingolf the distillate from. the collecting drum, and electrical means forheating the retorts to distilling temperature.

` 20. In a construction such as specified in claim 18, metallicretorts,'and means for inducing electric currents therein to heat thesame. v

Intestimony Whereofl have signed my naine to this specification.

CHARLES G AD SIT.

